Terry Pratchett
Creating Discworld β using comic fantasy as a lens to examine everything absurd and wonderful about being human.
Biography
Terry Pratchett was a British author best known for the Discworld series β 41 comic fantasy novels set on a flat world balanced on four elephants standing on a giant turtle. Born in Beaconsfield, England in 1948, he published his first story at age thirteen. Pratchett used humor and satire to explore philosophy, politics, religion, and human nature with a depth that belied his comedy. He was the UK's bestselling author of the 1990s and was knighted in 2009. After being diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2007, he became an advocate for the right to die. He passed away in 2015.
Best Starting Book
Guards! Guards!
Don't start with the first Discworld book β start here, where Pratchett hits his stride with the beloved Night Watch characters.
Reading Order
Guards! Guards!
The best entry point β introduces the City Watch in a hilarious parody of fantasy tropes.
Mort
Death takes an apprentice β one of the funniest and most charming Discworld novels.
Small Gods
A standalone about religion and belief β widely considered Pratchett's most profound work.
Going Postal
A conman is put in charge of the postal service β Pratchett at peak comedic and narrative form.
Night Watch
The darkest and most acclaimed Discworld novel β a time-travel story about revolution and justice.